You are what you dine from your fins to your spines:
Pterois volitans dietary habits
Kaitlin Frei1, Natalie Slayden2, Jamie Peterson3, Felicity Bennett4, Melissa Gronske4, David Stickle4, Alli Candelmo5
1University
of Notre Dame 2Old Dominion University 3Cornell University 4Rutgers University, 5Central Caribbean Marine Institute
Introduction
Discussion
Results
Removal efforts have been implemented throughout the Cayman Islands
and Caribbean; however, more strategic planning may increase their success
[2]. The current study aimed to examine the diet of lionfish on the reefs of Little
Cayman over a 4 year time period. With increased knowledge of lionfish
dietary habits, culls can be targeted during seasons of maximum predation
when lionfish are more likely to be out in the open and easy to catch.
Image 1 (right). A lionfish, Pterois volitans,
on a coral reef. Photo courtesy of Guy
Harvey.
Image 2 (below). A map of Little Cayman
with all lionfish cull sites labeled. Sites
labeled with a lionfish were culled five or
more times throughout the study.
• Diet consisted of 69.81% vertebrates, 26.11% invertebrate, and 4.08% other
• 69.81% of stomachs contained contents and 30.19% were empty
• No significant seasonal difference for diet type
100%
Invertebrates
Vertebrates
80%
PERCENT FREQUENCY
Pterois volitans, lionfish, are an invasive species and serious threat to
Caribbean coral reefs [1]. Lionfish face few predators, have immense
appetites, and consume many herbivores; so, their presence can alter
community dynamics on reefs. In fact, areas invaded with lionfish display a
decline in coral and sponge communities and increase in algal dominance [2].
Other
60%
40%
Lionfish have a diverse appetite and feed on vertebrates, invertebrates,
and other items, such as rocks and algae, regardless of the season
(Figure 1 and Figure 3). The Caymanian lionfish preferred vertebrates, as
do lionfish in other areas [3]. Vertebrate preference is costly to coral reef
community dynamics particularly herbivorous fish which are essential algal
grazers. Additionally, mass consumption of shrimp, the main prey item,
harms coral reefs as numerous reef species rely on shrimp as a food
source.
A seasonal trend was seen in the percentage of empty stomachs, with
more empty stomachs in the summer and fall (Figure 2). Lionfish breeding
season peaks in March/April and August, so lionfish may eat more during
the winter and spring to prepare for mating [1]. The breeding season of
some reef fish peaks in the spring and summer, so the increased spring
appetite of lionfish may affect the stability of reef populations [4].
20%
0%
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Figure 1. Seasonal diet type. The graph depicts the percent frequency
of vertebrate, invertebrate, and other types of lionfish prey per season
from winter 2011 to spring 2015.
100%
PERCENT WITH FOOD
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Figure 2. Seasonal stomach content. The graph depicts the percentage
of fish with food in their stomachs from winter 2011 to spring 2015.
Methods
• Lionfish were collected with nets and spears weekly off Little Cayman Island
reefs from August 2011 through May 2015
Hawkfish
Mysid
Lizardfish
Goatfish
Acknowledgements
Trumpetfish
Mantis Shrimp
Butterflyfish
We thank all staff members at Little Cayman Research Center, especially Dr. Alli
Candelmo, for their guidance and support. Thanks also goes to the community members
of Little Cayman for participating in weekly culls and providing research specimens.
Angelfish
Triggerfish
Isopod
• Culls were scheduled at dusk between 5-7 PM when lionfish are out feeding
Goby
Parrotfish
Grouper
Table 1. The table displays an image and
percent frequency of the top 10 lionfish diet
items from winter 2011 to spring 2015.
Photos courtesy of reefguide.org.
Algae
Sweeper
• Lionfish stomachs were removed, preserved with ethanol, and frozen
• Stomach content was identified to the nearest possible taxa and assigned a
digestion level
• Total length of species (if whole) and dry weight was measured for all
content
Jawfish
Basslet
Filefish
t
[1] Gardner PG, Frazer TK, Jacoby CA, Yanony RPE. 2015. Reproductive biology of invasive lionfish
aaaaaaa(Pterois spp.). Frontiers in Marine Science. 2(7): 1-10.
Squirrelfish
Rocks
Shrimp
Chromis
Blenny
Crab
Image 2. An identified
grouper, left, and creole
wrasse, right from two lionfish
stomachs.
Damselfish
Cardinalfish
Literature Cited
Wrasse
[2] Barbour AB, Allen MS, Frazer TK, Sherman KD. 2011. Evaluating the potential efficacy of
aaaaaaainvasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) removals. PLoS One. 6(5).
[3] Valdez-Moreno M, Quintal-Lizama C, Gómez-Lozano R, García-Rivas MC. 2012. Monitoring an
aaaaaaaalien invasion: DNA barcoding and the identification of lionfish and their prey on coral reefs of
aaaaaaathe Mexican Caribbean. PLoS One. 7(6).
[4] Robertson DR, Swearer SE, Kaufmann S, Brother EB. 1999. Settlement vs. environmental
aaaaaaadynamics in a pelagic-spawning reef fish at Caribbean Panama. Ecological Monographs. 69:
aaaaaaa195-218.
Figure 3. Stomach contents. The chart
proportionally depicts the different diet contents of
lionfish from winter 2011 to spring 2015.